Android App Development

First, it’s important to understand that learning to create an app for Android involves more than just knowing how to code. Learning the syntax to code is important, don’t get me wrong! However, creating an app involves a large amount of tools and resources that are otherwise not needed to in different fields of development. For example, before you can even touch the code, you need to have the most up-to-date Android SDK and a compatible IDE. Then there is the matter of understanding the terminology of Android development, and where the basics of it lies. Finally, there is only so much you can learn from a single blog post. Some useful resources will be shared.

The very first thing you will be required to do is to choose your IDE (Integrated Development Environment). Most of the advice for newbies is to use the Eclipse IDE. This is the digital workspace you will use to make your app, the place where you will actually be coding. Google also offers an alternative IDE called Android Studio, but as of now it is in a prolonged beta, meaning it is less stable and more buggy than Eclipse, which has been established for some time now. After you have chosen an IDE, you need the Android Software Development Kit (SDK), which includes basically all of the software that you will need in order to start developing for Android.

Once you start getting into the code, you will need to have a basic understanding of JavaScript to understand some of the terminology used in Android development. For Android, the most important classes are Context, Activity, and Intent. These are the three main classes that are used in every Android app. For those not in the know, classes are used in JavaScript to create and define objects and methods. This is where it becomes important to understand the technical side of the code; a strong knowledge of Java means a firm foundation for your development.

Getting into the details of getting started with Android app development is beyond the scope of a single blog post. The most straightforward way to getting your work space set up and building your first app is to follow this tutorial on the Android Developer site. Once you’ve set everything up, you can follow this tutorial here to make a simple game that will teach you about the three main Android classes. Lastly, Udacity offers a myriad of in-depth Android courses, such as this one here. A Udacity membership is an investment in yourself and your future as an Android Developer.

So let’s recap: app development takes more than just knowing code to do, it takes learning the tools of the trade, including the Android SDK and a reliable IDE. Then you need to learn about the three basic building blocks Android, which are the Context, Activity, and Intent Classes. And of course, you need to further your education into a more in depthstudy, something easily accomplished with a website like Udacity.